Things Only I Know
by suckitup89
Summary: AU: Brittany tries to close herself off from the world. She is successful until she meets someone who changes her perspective.
1. Chapter 1

Prologue:

Silence. It's a word that most people take for granted. Sure, there are famous poems and saying around the concept and how great it is, but no one truly understands how beautiful silence can be. That is, other than myself.

See I have a story. Well, a story that is different than most other people's story. I'm not really good at telling it since I'm not good with beginnings, middles, and definitely not ends.

I guess I will start by telling a story about what happened the other day. I was taking the bus home from work and there was this man sitting in the aisle over. He was pretty quiet until the bus made a stop and a woman sat down next to him. I don't know what it is about women that cause men to become so disgusting but he wouldn't shut up.

Lord Tubbington would have called him a perv, but I know that he is just a man. His thoughts weren't any different than what I've heard from many other men when they are sitting next to an attractive woman - Especially if that woman has larger than normal breast.

Going back to about six months ago, there were a couple of children playing ball outside of my apartment complex. They couldn't have been older than 6 years old and although I don't know their names I've seen them around before.

I enjoy kids because of their pure and innocent spirit, so I decided to gaze out my window and watch them. It reminded me of me and my best friend when we were that age. I was broken out of my thoughts when a man walked out of the building, headed towards them, and began to yell.

"Stop making such a ruckus! Some of us are trying to sleep," The grey haired man shouted at them. I am guessing that he was probably around 70 years old. Not because he looked that old, but because he was thinking about how in his time kids would get stoned to death for being so loud. But like I said, I can't be sure. I was never good at history.

As he was walking back in the building, his thoughts of harming the children were so mean that I don't want to repeat them here. He obviously didn't think that anyone would hear them.

My apartment is on the top floor and right next to the stairs in the corner of the building. My mom helped me get it positioned so that I don't ever have to socialize with my neighbors.

It's better this way.

Knowing their inner most thoughts would definitely make it difficult to see them daily. It's just easier for me to be alone.

There was a time in the past that I was normal. I grew up with two parents that loved me. Together, with my cat, we all lived in that perfect fairy-tale house complete with the white picket fence. We lived in the suburbs of New Jersey where I knew all of my neighbors and their children.

The house next to ours was owned by my best friend's family since birth. He name was Mindy. We were inseparable – from womb to doom is what we used to say.

It wasn't until I hit my 12th birthday that it happened. I wish I could explain exactly what "it" was, but it's too early in the story for me to tell you. Basically, all you need to know is that on that day my life changed.

Oh, and you've probably gathered by all the posters around the room, but I'm talking about reading minds here.

Mindy no longer wanted to be my friend because of course she thought I was crazy. I had to be home-schooled because I couldn't focus in school with all the voices invading my thoughts. Even leaving my house was hard since there were so many people.

My parents tried taking me to every type of doctor or specialist imaginable, but none of them believed me. They didn't even have to say it out loud, I could read their minds. The only people that believed me were my parents. Too bad they had no idea how to help me.

A couple months later my mom found out that she was pregnant again. It was then that my parents relocated our family and we moved to the small town Lima, Ohio. I was once again home-schooled and despite my parents trying to get me out of the house, I enjoyed staying home and helping them with my sister Katie.

Finally, I had found some peace. It turned out that I couldn't read the minds of kids. I'm not sure of the exact cut off, but I couldn't hear Katie until she was 10 years and 9 months old.

I am going to be honest and tell you that I don't want to be up here talking to all of you today. I never wanted anyone to know of my… curse, as I call it. But six months ago I met someone who turned my life upside down in the best way possible.

For once, she made me believe that maybe I wouldn't end up alone.

So here I am semi-ready to tell you what my psychologist, Dr. Brooks, calls – "The Story of the only Proven Mind-Reader on Earth." I just call it my life.

My name is Brittany S Pierce, not to be confused with Britney Spears, and I am a Unicorn.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 1:

There is something about consistency that I take comfort in. I appreciate it when I know exactly what is going to happen. For example, I knew that when I got to the studio the top locker closest the door would be empty because in its location, when someone walks in, the door would swing in and hit the person in front of it. I also knew that if I got to work at exactly 4:25 pm I would arrive between when the Mike's early class let out and the my late class arrived, therefore successfully avoiding the risk of someone walking in.

For the past two years, I had worked at Chang-it-up Dance Studio. When I turned twenty-one, I realized that I had to stop hiding out at my parent's house and find a life of my own. Unfortunately, I hadn't realized how difficult it would be for someone with no experience or public schooling to get a job.

One day, I stopped by every store, restaurant, bar, and even an accidental strip club before realizing how hopeless I was in my search. Being a mind reader had always made me avoid social situations, so walking into that strip club was one of the first occasions that I had been around so many "horny" men. Their thoughts were overwhelming and I couldn't even make it all the way to the bar before I had to turn around and exit. The things that they thought while looking at those women… Well, I still try to forget it ever happen.

However, it wasn't until I walked out of that strip club that my day started looking up. I hadn't realized it, but the pace that I walked out of there with was substantially faster than that which I had used to walk in. Luckily, that didn't stop Tina Cohen-Chang from running after me and asking to talk.

I know that as my first substantial conversation with someone other than my family I should probably tell you what happened during our talk. But it was really embarrassing and I'd rather spend the next few hours telling the stories that matter to me and those all involve Santana.

So, to save time, I'm just going to tell you that she set me up with an audition to teach at the dance studio that her boyfriend's mom owned. Oh, and despite my extreme awkwardness during lunch, I was able to keep Tina from knowing my secret.

Well, by now I guess you can assume that I was given a job at the studio. I'm not sure that I would have been hired if it had been Mrs. Chang that ran the audition, but luck was once again on my side when her son Mike took over for her that day.

Oh, and just so you don't get confused, Mike and Tina may have the same last name, but they are not brother and sister. As Santana says, it's just an extreme coincidence that the only two Asian families in Lima both have the same last name. Of course, normally she snorts afterwards so she may be joking. I'll have to ask her later.

Where was I? Oh yeah, the flu. Mike's mom had the flu and instead of rescheduling since they didn't have my phone number, he let me audition for him. Mike was a nice guy, and dancing was the only thing that I was good at so for once I felt comfortable in front of someone other than my parents.

Although I had not had any official training; with all the alone time that I had the past few years there was more than enough time for me to teach myself how to dance - ballet, tap, jazz, hip-hop, contemporary, ballroom, salsa, tango, and more. I had studied it all.

So, with the promise of attending two weeks of Mike's adult class for training, I became the new dance coach for kids ages 4 to 10.

**Six months earlier – July 14****th**

After putting all of her belonging in the locker room, Brittany opened the door to her empty dance room. Since starting at Chang-it-up Dance Studio, she had always taught in room 2. Mike held his classes in room 1 and they used room 3 for specialty classes.

As usual, she flipped the switch causing the lights to flicker three noticeable times before staying on. Brittany walked over to the podium that held the controls to her stereo and slid the new CD into the slot. Despite the fact that she taught children, she liked to use songs that were part of today's pop culture.

Meaning three words – "Call Me Maybe".

_Carly Rae Jepsen… I love this song. What was I doing again? Oh yeah, I gotta get that business card from my office. Brittany always chooses the best songs for the res… shit! I forgot to tell her about the parent meetings._

Brittany could hear Mike coming before he even headed into her room. He had been walking past her room to his office, when she could hear his thoughts change because he forgot to discuss something with her. Of course, she also knew that it was about their parent-teacher conference.

"Hey, Britt!" Mike called out enthusiastically, as he hovered around the doorway. "Can I come in?"

_I hope she can hear me over the music…_

Turning the music down before Mike even shared his thought caused the man to smile. Brittany could always tell what he was going to say. "Yeah, of course, what's up?"

"I just wanted to remind you that on Friday we have parent-teacher meetings. I know that you've gone through a couple of these already, but I just want to touch base on what we are trying to do this year."

"Sounds good, boss man," Brittany replied, while sliding down to sit against the wall and motioned for Mike to do the same.

"Well as you know, my mom and I opened this studio for young dancers to feel more comfortable in following their dream whether as a career or even a hobby. Now we both can agree that that starts at home. So as their instructors, I just want to make sure that we really allow the parents to see how important dancing can be for kids."

Brittany had heard Mike go on about the importance of parental support for young dancers too many times over the past few years to think that his rant end before her class was due to start. Since she had already seen a couple of the parents walk through the door she decided that she had to stop him soon.

"I know, and I think I know where you are going with t-."

"I want you to allow the parents to sit in on Friday's lessons." Mike spoke quickly as he interrupted Brittany.

The blonde stood up and shook her head so fast that her hair was flinging back and forth onto her shoulders. "No…"

"Britt, they are children. It's already unusual to make the parents wait outside."

"No…" Brittany continued to whisper with a look of shock on her face. "You know that I can't."

Mike walked up to her and put one hand on each of her shoulders. He bent down a little to try to make eye contact with her, but she continued to look around at nothing in particular while whispering the word no over and over.

Sighing in disappointment, Mike took a step back and let his arms fall back to his sides. "Just think about it, okay? I think both the kids and parents would really enjoy it."

_Maybe you could even meet people your own age._

Brittany watched as the other dance teacher left the room with his head down. She couldn't believe what she had heard him think. Did he really think that she wanted the only social contact that she had to be with a bunch of kids under 10?

The more she thought about it, the more hurt she got. She wished that she could allow parents to sit in, but after the first class she taught, back when it was a common thing for parents to do, she realized that she couldn't focus on the kids with all of the adult's thoughts running through her head.

Fortunately, Brittany didn't have a lot of time to dwell on it because a few kids came running in.

"Miss Pierce!" A little girl came running in and wrapped her arms around the blonde's legs. Brittany glanced down at the blonde girl and smiled.

"Why, Beth Puckerman, you look prettier every time I see you." The little girl giggled, but pulled away so that she could look up at her teacher.

_Your ass looks tighter every time I see it._

Brittany felt a shiver run down her spine as she turned around to see Noah Puckerman, Beth's father. Once a month he would be the one to drop the six year-old off in place of the girl's mother, Quinn Fabray. She always knew when it was that week because she could hear his perverse mind before he even entered the room.

"Why, Ms. Pierce, dare I say that you look stunning this evening?" The man asked with a smirk.

Brittany frowned as she looked down at the white tank, black sweat capris that were given to her by the studio and her favorite Nike shoes that she was wearing. Overall, the outfit she was wearing wasn't screaming "stunning."

As she began to look up and give the man a piece of her mind, Brittany realized that there was young boy standing being him. "Who is this handsome little man?"

_Oh, I'll show you my little man…_

Brittany sent the man a glare, but caught herself before she could say anything rude in response. Luckily, Puck hadn't seemed to notice as he lowered his hand onto the boy's head and ruffled the short brown locks. "This is Zack, I'm dropping him off with Beth today."

The young boy tried to push Puck's hand off of his head and fix the damage by running his hand through his hair. Brittany laughed, but got down on one knee in front of him. "How old are you, Zack?"

"I'm four." Zach replied, lifting his left hand and raising four fingers.

"That is an awesome age. I'm Brittany, but you can call me Miss Pierce, okay?"

The child nodded and Brittany stood up, while putting her hand on his back so she could gently lead him over to where Beth and a small group of kids had gathered. Looking at the clock, Brittany realized that there was only one minute until the class was due to start. She sighed in relief and walked over the door to close it. Allowing her eyes to take a quick glance over all of the waiting mothers, Brittany smiled at them, but they were all too busy trying to watch their children through the window.

Turning around, she plastered the largest smile that she could and clapped her hands to gain the class's attention. "Hey, guys, are you ready to dance?"

The children cheered and Brittany watched as they all found the spots that she had given them so that they wouldn't run into each other, but could also all see her. Zach was the only new kid and in order to make him feel comfortable she moved a few of them around so that he could be next to Beth.

The class blew by and she was once again impressed by the quality of dancers she had in her class for the age group. Of course all of them were at different levels, but as a whole she knew that they would make for a great group at recital time.

As soon as she dismissed the children, ending the class by giving them all a Hi-c juice box, the parents filed in to give their little ones praise. Since all of the other parents had waited during the class, the only two kids left in the room were Beth and Zach.

She had been excited when Mr. Puckerman had told her that Zach was a new student, it was the first time that a parent had chosen to sign their son up without being asked by one of the Changs.

It didn't take more than a minute for Brittany to see the front door open and Ms. Fabray to walk in. As she watched the other blonde hold the door open behind her, she saw who she assumed was Zach's mother.

The dark-skinned woman looked exactly like an older and more feminine version of Zach. They had identical hair colors and the way that the woman's hair had what appeared to be a light, natural curl to it explained why the young boy's hair did as well.

Brittany would definitely say that she was enamored by this woman. However, it wasn't until the two mothers made it into the classroom that she could fully appreciate the Latina's body. The way that the red dress she had on fit around the curve of her hips was enough for make Brittany drool right there, not to mention the amount of cleavage that was shown as the dress barely covered her breast.

"Hello, Ms. Pierce, sorry we are late." Quinn Fabray was probably one of Brittany's favorite people. The blonde woman was obviously very wealthy by the fancy dress suits that she would wear every week, but she never acted as if she was too good to take time and talk to Brittany.

Actually, it often made Brittany question how a man like Noah could get with a woman like Quinn.

"Oh, it's no problem. Class just ended a minute ago." Brittany assured Quinn, but glanced over at the new addition. "I'm Brittany Pierce, you must be Zach's mother?"

The brunette had already picked up her son and was holding him so that he was hoisted onto her left hip. "Santana Lopez." She replied, trying to awkwardly keep the boy from sliding down while she reached her arm out to shake the dance teacher's hand.

"Zach is a great dancer. I'm really excited to have the little man in the class."

"Well what can I say? He's been a dancer since he was in the womb." Santana laughed at her own joke. The other two adults chuckled as well until Beth pulled down on her mom's shirt and asked if they could go for ice cream.

_Womb? Talking about wombs already? Idiot, Santana!_

Brittany's head snapped up to look at Santana when she first heard the woman's thoughts.

_Of course you also look like a stripper. She is going to think you're a freak._

This caused Brittany to smile as she realized that Santana was looking everywhere but at her. Quinn pulled the woman out of their thoughts when she placed a hand on Santana's shoulder and announced that they were ready to go.

"I'll see you two on Friday." Brittany told the kids before waving to their parents.

"Bye, Ms. Pierce!" Beth shouted back as they were walking away.

Brittany watched as the foursome walked out of the room and towards the studio door. For the first time in her life, Brittany hadn't minded the company and was sad that they had to leave. Maybe Mike had been right earlier and she did have to make some adult friends.

Without giving herself time to second guess what she was about to do, Brittany ran out of the room and caught up to the woman before they had made it too far.

"Hey!" Brittany shouted, successfully causing the woman to turn back around. "On Friday we are having parent-teacher week. I'm opening up the classroom so parents can watch. You two should come."

Brittany wishes that she had heard what Quinn said when she responded, but her attention had been focused solely on Santana. When the brunette smiled and nodded, Brittany knew that she was in trouble.

Now in more ways than one.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 2:

I like to think that there is a moment in life where everything changes. For some, it is the day they graduate high school and realize that outside of those four walls the fact that they were homecoming queen means nothing. For others, it is when they first hold their new bouncing baby after countless hours of labor. Or possibly, it could be the day that you meet the love of your life.

Or the day after…

I didn't know it back then, but the day after I met Santana at the dance studio was going to hold that special moment for me.

Now I know that most people want that love at first sight kind of love. And trust me, in all of the dreams I had while growing up that is exactly how it happened. However, after I began to read people's minds, I had come to settle on the idea of never being able to be in any sort of relationship. At least not apart from the one with Lord Tubbington.

See, all of you in this room are here to see if I can actually read minds. You're skeptical. It's understandable. I could go around the room and tell you all what you are thinking, but I'm not going to because this isn't some sort of circus act. Actually, it is quite the opposite.

I want you all to leave today knowing that although I am happy with my life right now, it wasn't always this way.

Up until six months ago, the last time I had eaten in a public restaurant was my sixteenth birthday. My parents wanted me to have the "sweet sixteen" that every little girl looks forward to. I had woken up that morning to a new party dress and my favorite breakfast – chocolate chip waffles with a smiley face.

The day was filled with board games and presents and Disney movies. It was perfect until my parents begged me to go with them to this fancy restaurant where they had invited some of their friends who had children my age.

We had only been there for about ten minutes before I ran out crying.

There were so many thoughts and voices in the room that I felt like my head was going to explode. I tried to close my eyes and focus on only the voices of my parents, but it was impossible.

When I had left, my father ran after me. Wordlessly, he followed me to his car and drove us home. He kept thinking about how disappointed he was that I couldn't be normal. It wasn't the first time I had heard these things from him or my mother and I knew then that it wouldn't be the last.

After that night, my parents must have realized that I couldn't go out to eat with them since I was never invited to any of their future outings. I had cut my losses and learned to avoid those types of situations completely.

However, six months ago I had invited a group of overbearing mothers and fathers to watch me teach their children for an entire hour in a small room. I knew that I would have to train myself be able to handle it and with less than a week to do it there were very few options.

Which is how I ended up in the most popular restaurant in Lima – Breadstix.

Breadstix is a non-chain Italian restaurant where they cannot stop serving you breadsticks until you are done. My entire life I heard two things about the place. How amazing the food was and how busy the place always was.

So that afternoon when I got there I was beyond nervous. It took me a while to get myself to even walk through the door. But when I did… I only saw _her_. I only heard _her_. It was as if everyone else disappeared.

**Six months earlier –July 15****th**

Brittany had no idea what she should wear to a restaurant like Breadstix. Should she dress nice even if she isn't planning on meeting anyone there? Would people give her funny looks when they see her eating alone? Do they have shrimp?

The questions were overwhelming. Deciding to throw caution to the wind before she would back out completely, Brittany threw her purse over her shoulder and rushed out of her apartment.

Thankfully, the walk wasn't very far and it appeared that the people of Lima were all either driving or staying at home since the sidewalks were bare. The closer she got to the family restaurant, the more nervous she became. By the time she reached the door, she couldn't stop wiping her hands on her pants to remove the ever-growing sweat.

Not quite being ready to enter the building, Brittany stood in front of the door staring through the window at the line of people standing around and waiting to be seated.

_Um… Excuse me, freak._

Brittany turned around to see a couple heading toward her. The man was about her height, but the woman following him was definitely shorter. As they walked past her and into the building, the man gave her a funny look and then whispered something into his girlfriend's ear causing her to laugh.

Despite the fact that she was used to people thinking negative things about her, Brittany was still stung by his words.

_She's probably a retard whose keeper left her here unwanted._

She almost turned around and went back to the safety of her apartment until she remembered that she had invited Santana and all the other parents to sit in and watch her teach and she wanted to seem normal. There was something about the older Lopez that had her wanting to be around her and Brittany didn't want to ruin her chance before she even got one.

Finally gathering the courage, she pushed the door open and walked inside. Once there however, she was surprised to see the woman she had just been thinking about standing behind the hostess stand.

"Welcome to Breadstix, how many are in your party tonight?" Santana's raspy voice was all Brittany could hear. "Oh, Mrs. Pierce, right?"

"Ms. Pierce, actually. Brittany is fine though." Brittany replied nervously. "You can call me Brittany."

Santana smile widened. "Okay, Brittany. It's nice to see you again. Just you tonight?"

"Um… Yeah." The blonde looks around and finally notices all the people still waiting for a table.

_I hope he's paying… So hungry… Should have eaten at home… Too many carbs… I'm so tired… She's so hot… Hope my ass looks… Gotta get back to work… Bring a baby to a… Birthday… Flowers… Work… Sex… Hungry…_

_Brittany…_

"Brittany?" Santana puts her hand on the other woman's shoulder, successfully getting her attention.

"I'm sorry. What did you say?"

"There is a little bit of a wait unless you want to sit at the bar?"

Brittany's eyes widened as she thought about being stuck with a group of drunk people. "Please don't make me sit there."

_God, her eyes are blue._

"Of course you don't have to sit there." Santana reassures her. When the blonde woman's shoulders relax, Santana smiles at her. "How about you take a seat and I'll call you when a table opens up?"

Brittany nods at this and finds a seat as close to the door as she can. There are a few people sitting around her, but her mind is still focused on the beautiful Latina.

_Look away. Who cares if she is the most beautiful woman you've ever seen, you're still at work. Okay, so you get off in ten minutes and then you can stare. No, Santana, stop thinking about her that way._

Butterflies were fluttering throughout Brittany stomach at the thought of Santana thinking about her in such an intimate way. She could feel herself heating up and could only guess how red her cheeks looked. She watched as Santana continued to work and walk people to their table for the remainder of her shift. Brittany was surprised as she found that when the Latina was around she found it so easy to focus on her thoughts and it was as if no one else was around.

Every time Santana would walk to her podium, she would catch a glance at Brittany and then immediately think about how much of a creeper she felt like. It made Brittany's smile grow every time that it happened

"Mommy!"

Brittany turned to see Zack running towards his mother with a grin matching the older Latina's. The boy ran into Santana's arms as if she was the most important person in the world and Brittany figured that she probably was. Maybe Santana was the gravity keeping everyone on Earth.

"Mijo, did you have fun at school?" Santana asks as she hands her apron over to her co-worker.

Watching the two of them reunite distracted Brittany from hearing the new hostess call her name. She didn't even notice anyone else in the room until she saw the older Latina turn to look at her.

_Brittany._

"Brittany?"

"What?"

The giggle that came out of Santana's mouth was enough to make Brittany's butterflies flutter faster causing her stomach to growl.

"Well it's a good thing that your table is ready." Santana replied. She was now standing in front of Brittany with Zack beside her holding her hand. "Sounds like it's just in time."

_Duh, Santana, it's dinner time! Could you sound any more ridiculous? You used to be a flirty goddess. What's wrong with you?_

"You're perfect." Brittany whispered shyly. Santana looked up at her confused and only then did Brittany realize that Santana hadn't actually said those things out loud. "I mean… Would you two like to join me for dinner?"

Santana looked down at Zack and asked him if he was hungry. When he nodded, albeit shyly, she verbally accepted the offer. The group of three followed the hostess to the booth where she handed them the menu. Santana let Zack scoot in first and sat down next to him while Brittany took a seat across.

_Oh My Gawd. Fresh breadsticks!_

Brittany chuckled when she heard Santana squeal in her thoughts causing the woman to look up at her. When brown eyes met blue, silence overcame the table. Santana couldn't help but allow her mouth to form a smile identical to Brittany's. It wasn't until Zack asked his mom if he could have chicken nuggets that either looked away.

"Um, we don't serve chicken nuggets, mijo." Santana told the boy. When he groaned in annoyance, she showed him the picture of the children's picture that was displayed on the menu. "This is the special type of pizza…"

Zack's face lit up and he turned to his mom, "The pizza with breadsticks in the middle?"

"Yep, the pizza with the breadsticks." Santana told him as she was engulfed in a hug. Brittany watched the two in amazement and for the first time in years she felt a little empty at the thought of not being so close to anyone in a while. She watched as the little boy pulled away and began coloring the menu. Santana looked back up at Brittany with a hint of embarrassment. "Sorry, about that."

"You don't need to apologize." Brittany assured her.

"I don't want you to feel left out. He just likes it when I roll his pizza around the breadsticks." Santana informed the blonde. "We both love breadsticks."

Brittany nodded and thanked her for sharing. She didn't want to sound odd by informing her that she could hear how much Santana enjoyed the breadsticks. Especially since she didn't want to scare away the one person who seems to quite her thoughts. "Is that why you work here?"

_Of course she thinks you are a loser. You're 24 years old and don't even have a real job._

"It seems… fun." Brittany tried not to let her doubt shine through her tone. She definitely didn't think that Santana should feel bad about working at Breadstix, but she knew that there was no way that she could work around all these people. "I bet you get to take a bunch of breadsticks home."

Santana nodded and looked in awe at the perfect woman in front of her. "I do occasionally, but I only work here three days a week. I'm actually a bartender Wednesday thru Saturday nights."

Before Brittany can respond, a waitress walks up to the table and asks if they are ready to order.

"Oh, hey, Santana. And Zack, you're mother needs to bring you here more often." The waitress that introduced herself as Melanie said.

_Shit. Please stop flirting with me._

The boy barely even looked up from the masterpiece he was creating on his menu while his mother only turned to Brittany. The dancer was looking down at her menu, but looked as if she was slouching into herself.

While Santana tried to think of something to say that would let Brittany and Melanie know that she isn't interested in the waitress, Brittany was trying to get back out of Melanie's thoughts and into Santana's.

_Hot, Fiery Latina. And that tongue… Oh, God, what I bet she can do with that spicy tongue. Fuck I'm wet. I bet I know why you like lasagna…_

"Brittany?" Santana said, breaking Brittany out of her thoughts once again. "Are you okay?"

Her anger and embarrassment prevented Brittany from moving too much, but she forced herself to order spaghetti.

_Why is Santana with such a retard?_

Brittany couldn't handle it anymore and moved to get out of the booth.

"Where are you going?" Santana asked innocently. The hurt was evident in her voice, but Brittany didn't know if she could handle to spend more time in the room. She continued to slide to the end of the booth, but just as she turned to stand, she was stopped by what she was sure she didn't hear in Santana's thoughts… "I'm gay."

Turning around to look at the woman, Brittany let all of the tension flow out and once again focused on Santana.

_Brittany. Brittany. Brittany. Brittany. Brittany. Brittany._

"Okay." Brittany replied quietly. She slowly turned back and sat back down. "I'm-"

"No. I'm the one who is sorry. Melanie found out about me and has since been more than flirty." Santana paused and then reached across the table and grabbed Brittany's hand. "I want to get to know you, Brittany."

The blonde nodded and moved her other hand so that she could completely surround Santana's one. Brittany allowed the warmth spread throughout her at the feeling of the skin to skin contact. She had been craving it for so long and now that she had it, she didn't want to let go.

"I want to get to know you too." The words flowed out of Brittany's mouth before she even knew what was happening. Santana smiled before she turned her attention to Zack when she started showing her his picture. When Zack turned to show his picture to Brittany, both women squeezed their hands a little tighter.

"You want to play tic-toe, Ms. Pierce?" Zack asked innocently. Brittany agreed and grabbed the crayon that he reached out to her. "Red is my favite color."

"Favorite." Santana corrected.

"Faverite." Zack pronounced while putting the first x.

"Close enough." Santana laughed and watched as the two played their game.

The dinner went better then Brittany could have ever imagined and she was surprised that she was able to focus solely on Santana's thoughts. There were times when she felt that she was violating the other woman's privacy, but she really couldn't help it. The food as good, and Zack even allowed Brittany to try his breadstick pizza.

When they finished eating, both of the adults tried to postpone it as long as they could, but Santana was forced to end it when Zack asked if he could go home and watch tv. After both women paid for their portions, Brittany followed the two Latina's out to their car.

"Where did you park?" Santana asked as she finished buckling Zack into his car-seat.

"I walked." Brittany replied. "I live really close."

_Can I hug her? Should we shake hands?_

Once again surprising Santana at how spot on Brittany is at guessing her needs, Brittany steps forward and wraps her arms around her waist. Santana allows her arms to follow suit and rests her head on the blonde's shoulder.

"I'll see you later?" It hadn't meant to come out as a question, but when she felt Santana nod into her shoulder she felt relief wash over her.

"Thanks for asking us to join."

"Thanks for joining."

"I guess I have to go."

"Yeah, Zack's waiting."

"Bye, Brittany."

"Bye, Santana."

For the second time in two days, Brittany stood in the parking lot watching as Santana drove away.

A/N: Thanks so much for all the support through reviews and alerts! I hate that it has taken me so long to update, but I recently moved and have been busy trying to find a job. Plus, with Glee sucking it has been hard to keep canon characterization.

Anyways, I promise to update within the week if you all promise to continue to be awesome.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 3:

It wasn't long after meeting Santana that I knew I had to have her in my life. Every time that our skin met, I was overwhelmed by how soft she was and the warmth that radiated off of every inch of her body. It was an almost immediately after we had parted ways that I began to miss her both physically and emotionally.

I had walked home after our meal at Breadstix with a smile that I couldn't get rid of even if I had tried. Surprisingly, not even the homeless man that lives at the bus stop on the corner next to my apartment could ruin my mood. His name is Rob and he likes to think nasty things about everything… even stray cats… Those poor cats are just trying to –

Anyways, back to the story. As soon as I opened the door to my apartment I was overwhelmed with loneliness. At this point, I had lived in my own apartment for over a year and never experienced this feeling. Actually, before that moment I had reveled in and welcomed the silence that the small apartment offered.

For the first time in my life, I dreaded the thought of spending the night in my home alone.

That night I called my mom for the first time in three months. Surprisingly, I can't read people's minds over the phone, but that never made it easier for us to make that initial contact. The phone call was awkward at first, but eventually she asked me if I had any new friends.

I immediately thought of Santana and the possibility of us being real friends. So for the first time in years I opened up to my mom about how I felt. I not only told her about the fact that I she made it easier to concentrate my thinking on one person, but also shared the possibility of a more intimate relationship.

When I was growing up, my parents tried so hard to relate with me. Eventually, after years of failed teenager play dates, they realized that I was a lost cause. Over the years they tried less and less until the three of us stopped talking altogether.

That's why I was shocked when her only response was to ask if Santana was a lesbian. Of course I knew the answer, since Santana had blurted it out at dinner earlier, but I didn't know if by admitting it I was also telling my mom that I was gay as well. After a few seconds of silence my mom surprised me by telling me it was okay that I liked girls and if I would be happy with Santana then she and my father would support me. Since I hadn't said anything to let her know what I was thinking, I asked her if she could secretly read minds too. She laughed and told me no, that she just cared enough about me know what my silences meant.

That was the first time I had made my mom laugh in a long time and I couldn't help but to laugh along.

That day had been filled with a lot of firsts for me. By the time I had taken my shower and crawled into my bed, I was out like Santa Clause on Christmas morning. I've never been a deep sleeper which allows me to remember all of my dreams, that night it was definitely awesome because even though real Santana is amazing, I found out that dream Santana was a good substitute.

That was the day that I first realized that my life had been missing something, and that thing was Santana.

**Six months earlier- July 17****th**

The bright lights of the dance studio shone down on Brittany as she stood beside her students doing the routine. As she did the final turn and took a bow, a drop of sweat fell from her brow and hit the hard wood floor.

A short second of complete silence filled the large room. However, before Brittany could even lift her upper body out of the bow, a loud applause erupted from the front of the room. Once Brittany stood up completely, she watched as her students ran up to their parents and received their praise.

Overall, the class hadn't been as bad as Brittany had expected. That morning when she had woken up, Brittany immediately felt dread run through her body. The nerves that she had anticipated turned out to be even worse and it had taken her hours before she could even get herself out of bed and once she did, she was unable to eat.

The day had been extremely lazy, but when she walked into the studio like she did every day, she felt a burst of energy due to nervousness.

At first she thought that she was nervous because she'd have to be in a room with at least 20 adults for about an hour, but after the first person arrived and she felt a bit of sadness because it wasn't Santana. That's when she realized that her nerves we because she was excited to see the Latina that had been invading her thoughts.

_Brittany?_

"Brittany?" Santana asked, waving her hand in front of the blonde's face. When Brittany's body stiffened and her head snapped to attention, Santana giggled. "Sorry if I scared you."

_She is so adorable._

"No, um… I was just lost in my thoughts." Brittany responded. "It's better than getting lost in the sewers. It's nothing like the way they show it on Finding Nemo."

_Stop smiling like an idiot and talk to her._

"Pancakes!" Santana yelped. Everyone left in the studio turned to look at her causing her face to darken in embarrassment. She lowered her head slightly and waited for the attention to be taken off of her. "I mean… Saturday is Zack's and I pancake day. I make chocolate chip pancakes and we watch a movie. If you aren't busy maybe you would like to come over and join us for Finding Nemo. It's his turn to choose and it's what he always picks."

"Oh, um…" Brittany started, but the way she looked around nervously caused Santana to interrupt.

"It's okay, forget I even brought it up. Of course, you probably spend Friday nights with your boyfriend. Why wouldn't you." Santana turns around quickly and starts walking towards the door.

_Stupid, stupid._

Brittany watched Santana in shock at how quickly everything happened. She tried to make herself move to run after the other woman, but her brain was quickly becoming overloaded. It appeared that as Santana got further away, the other voices still in the room became louder.

_I'll just stop by Taco Bell… Can't she tell I don't want to talk to her?... My kid is obviously the cutest…_

"Ms. Pierce, I need to talk to you about how…"

_I hope my husband doesn't want to…_

"…have private lessons. We really can't…"

_Stop picking your wedgies in public, you little…_

"…peach season is still a couple months away, but maybe…"

_Deal or No Deal starts in 20 minutes, shit!_

"Ms. Pierce?"

Once Brittany finally focused to the overly plump mother in front of her, she couldn't do anything, but nod her head. Seeing that the she must have given the woman the answer that she wanted to hear, Brittany excused herself in the changing room to grab her things.

Thankfully, the dressing room wasn't too far from Brittany's classroom because she barely made it through the door before she began to hyperventilate. As her breathing began to quicken, Brittany took a seat on the bench in the middle of the hall. She felt faint as she tried to get her brain to stop focusing on all the voices that she could hear in the other room and instead on the silence that welcomed her where she was.

Due to the fact that this was not Brittany's first anxiety attack in her life, she sat with her head between her legs and her face towards the ground. Squeezing her eyes shut, and trying to focus on slowing her breathing, Brittany didn't hear the door to the dressing room open.

"Britt?" Mike called hesitantly. When the blonde did look up, Mike could see the exhaustion and pain in her eyes. "What happened? Are you okay?"

As Mike knelt in front of her, Brittany leaned so that she could put her head on his shoulder.

_Oh, Britt. Why won't you just open up to me. I want to help you so bad._

Without saying a word, Mike continued to rub Brittany's back soothingly until her breathing went back to its normal speed. Brittany raised her head and pulled back enough that she could send him a thankful smile.

"Thanks, Mike. You really are a good friend."

"Britt, what happened to make you so sad?" Mike asked seriously.

"I wasn't sad," Brittany told him, rubbing the remnants of tears from her eyes. "I was just overwhelmed."

The Asian man patiently waited for her to continue. When he realized that she wasn't going to tell him, he stood up to leave.

_One step forward, two steps back._

"Mike!" Brittany called him back. As soon as he sat back in front of her, Brittany continued, "I- I think I like someone. Like, like-like. Do you understand?"

"Not really."

The blonde sighed and lowered her head in her hands. "I want pancakes and Nemo…"

"Still not comprehending, Britt." Mike laughed, causing the woman to groan and raise her head so that her eyes could meet Mike's.

"I have this new boy in my class, Zack Lopez. His mom picked him up from his first class this week and the minute – no, second – that I saw her, I felt things that I have never felt before. She is so beautiful and gorgeous and nice and funny and…"

"I get the point." Mike interrupted. "You like this woman. What's wrong with that? Is it because she is a woman?"

Brittany thought about it for a little bit before responding. She had never been one to judge attraction based on gender and after her conversation with her mother, she knew that it wasn't her sexuality that scared her. However, she had no idea how to explain her fears to Mike without telling him her secret.

"I've never dated anyone before."

Mike smiled and moved so that he was sitting next to Brittany. "Well I personally think it's about time. And I don't know how much Tina has told you, but I consider myself to be really good at dating women so if you ever need advice I am here."

Brittany turned to Mike and pulled him into a hug. She whispered a quiet thank you into his shoulder while he allowed his hand to rub her back. When she finally pulled away she asked him the biggest question she had, "How do you flirt and leave her wanting more?"

Mike just laughed and took her hand to lead her to his office. "Oh, boy, we have a lot of work ahead of us."

Later that evening, Brittany stood in front of the dark brown door for what felt like ages, but in reality was only a couple minutes. She tried to convince her arm that it would be okay to lift up and allow her hand to hit the door to make a knocking sound. However, it appeared as though her body was not listening to her today. Finally giving up, Brittany turned away from the door that leads into Santana's house and back towards the street.

Before she could make it more than a few steps, she heard the door behind her open.

"Were you going to knock, or just stand outside my house like a stalker?" Santana asked from the doorway. When Brittany turned to look at her, the Latina was surrounded by the light from inside her house. The comparison to the dark night felt symbolic in the way that she brought light to Brittany's otherwise dark life.

"Uh…" Brittany's voice trailed as she began to hear Santana.

_Breathe, Santana, she is just a beautiful woman. A beautiful woman that you like. A beautiful woman that you like and appears to like you, too. Okay, maybe you should focus on breathing._

"I love pancakes." Brittany started, finally able to talk after realizing that Santana is just as nervous as her. "What I mean is… I want to have breakfast and watch Finding Nemo with you and Zack. That is, if the offer is still open…"

"Of course it is. You didn't have to come all the way to my house to tell me that." Santana whispered, causing Brittany to realize how close they had gotten. She hadn't even realized that she had been slowly taking steps back to the door until she could basically feel Santana's words instead of hear them.

"I don't have a boyfriend by the way."

"You don't?"

"Or a girlfriend." Brittany's smile couldn't get any bigger as she knew she was teasing Santana. She didn't need to hear Santana's thoughts to know that it was working, as she could feel it in the deepness of the woman's breathing.

"And, why would I care if you are dating anyone?" Santana asked, obviously trying to get a little bit of control in the conversation.

"I know that you know why." Brittany replied.

Before Santana could respond, the blonde had already turned down the driveway and was walking away. She allowed her hips to sway a little more than was necessary, knowing from her thoughts that Santana was watching. As soon as she reached the street she turned and waved. "I'll see you tomorrow, Ms. Lopez."

For the first time, Brittany smirked knowing that it was Santana watching her walk away.

A/N: So I know that this chapter took me longer than anticipated, however, I started a new job and it's been kicking my butt. You all are awesome and the way my inbox exploded made my heart burst in excitement. Don't worry, it wasn't literally…

Anyways, I wanted to put in how Brittany found out Santana's address in this chapter, but it just fits better in the next one. Which will hopefully be up later this week if all goes well. Please let me know what you like and what you don't because all reviews help with the creative process and if I'm doing something wrong then I'd love to know. \

Thanks!


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